Arsenic removal from groundwater by acclimated sludge under autohydrogenotrophic conditions

Arsenic in the environment is attracting increasing attention due to its chronic health effects. Although arsenite(As(III)) is generally more mobile and more toxic than arsenate(As(V)), reducing As(V) to As(III) may still be a means for decontamination, because As(III) can be removed from solution by precipitation with sulfide or by adsorption or complexation with other metal sulfides. The performance of As(V) bio-reduction under autohydrogenotrophic conditions was investigated with batch experiments. The results showed that As(V) reduction was a biochemical process while both acclimated sludge and hydrogen were essential. Most of the reduced arsenic remained in a soluble form, although 20% was removed with no addition of sulfate, while 82% was removed when sulfate was reduced to sulfide. The results demonstrated that the reduced arsenic was re-sequestered in the precipitates, probably as arsenic sulfides. Kinetic analysis showed that pseudo first-order kinetics described the bio-reduction process better than pseudo second-order. In particular, the influences of pH and temperature on As(V) reduction by acclimated sludge under autohydrogenotrophic conditions and total soluble As removal were examined. The reduction process was highly sensitive to both pH and temperature, with the optimum ranges of pH 6.5–7.0 and 30–40°C respectively. Furthermore, Arrhenius modeling results for the temperature effect indicated that the As(V) reduction trend was systematic. Total soluble As removal was consistent with the trend of As(V) reduction.     

微纳米气泡改善杭州城市河道水生态环境的工程应用研究

于2013年4月至6月在杭州城市河道对微纳米气泡改善河道水生态环境进行了持续的原位监测实验.结果表明,与对照区相比,试验区水体温度平均升高0.7℃,pH增大0.2,溶解氧增加1.0 mg/L,而TDS浓度降低42 mg/L;水质污染指标高锰酸盐指数、总氮、氨氮、总磷平均浓度分别降低了8.45 mg/L、6.78 mg/L、8.90 mg/L和0.58 mg/L.由此可推测微纳米气泡在一定程度上能有效净化水质,为恢复良好水生生态环境提供新的方法和技术手段.     

家用洗涤剂中特征污染物的检测及潜在风险研究

家用洗涤剂的特征污染物磷与表面活性剂随废水排入环境水体造成水体溶解氧下降、富营养化,破坏水生生态环境。从北京市三个具有代表性的市场购买洗衣液、洗衣粉、洗衣皂和洗洁精四种形态的家用洗涤剂共40个样本,并对其中磷与阴离子表面活性剂(LAS)含量进行检测。结果显示,所有衣用洗涤剂总P2O5含量均小于1.1%,符合无磷洗涤剂国家标准(GB/T 13171.2-2009);而LAS含量差异较大,范围为6.9%~31.4%,基本趋势是洗洁精洗衣液洗衣粉;经估算,洗涤等量衣物,洗衣液的LAS排放量比洗衣粉高49.1%,北京市每年家用洗涤剂LAS产生量至少为1.23万吨;经检测蓟运河北京段水样,61.5%的样点水样中LAS含量达到III类水质标准,但局部地区污染仍较为严重,污染风险不可忽视。     

太湖流域水环境监测数据资源目录体系构建研究

太湖流域水环境监测数据来源广泛,涉及部门众多。数据资源目录体系建设是实现数据有序组织、满足信息共享需求的有效途径。通过分析太湖流域水环境监测数据资源管理和利用现状、存在问题,指出建设流域水环境监测数据资源目录体系的必要性。构建了流域水环境监测数据资源目录体系总体架构,实现数据资源的编目、注册、目录管理与目录服务。在此基础上,建设了流域水环境监测数据交换与共享平台原型,为实现流域水环境监测数据交换与共享提供技术支撑。     

An estimated 400–800 million tons of prey are annually killed by the global spider community

Spiders have been suspected to be one of the most important groups of natural enemies of insects worldwide. To document the impact of the global spider community as insect predators, we present estimates of the biomass of annually killed insect prey. Our estimates assessed with two different methods suggest that the annual prey kill of the global spider community is in the range of 400–800 million metric tons (fresh weight), with insects and collembolans composing >90% of the captured prey. This equals approximately 1‰ of the global terrestrial net primary production. Spiders associated with forests and grasslands account for >95% of the annual prey kill of the global spider community, whereas spiders in other habitats are rather insignificant contributors over a full year. The spider communities associated with annual crops contribute less than 2% to the global annual prey kill. This, however, can be partly explained by the fact that annual crop fields are “disturbed habitats” with a low buildup of spider biomass and that agrobiont spiders often only kill prey over short time periods in a year. Our estimates are supported by the published results of exclusion experiments, showing that the number of herbivorous/detritivorous insects and collembolans increased significantly after spider removal from experimental plots. The presented estimates of the global annual prey kill and the relative contribution of spider predation in different biomes improve the general understanding of spider ecology and provide a first assessment of the global impact of this very important predator group.     

Insights into the role of age and social interactions on the sexual attractiveness of queens in an eusocial bee, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Melipona flavolineata</Emphasis> (Apidae,Meliponini)

The attraction of sexual partners is a vital necessity among insects, and it involves conflict of interests and complex communication systems among male and female. In this study, we investigated the developing of sexual attractiveness in virgin queens (i.e., gynes) of Melipona flavolineata, an eusocial stingless bee. We followed the development of sexual attractiveness in 64 gynes, belonging to seven age classes (0, 3, 6, 9, 15, 18 days post-emergence), and we also evaluated the effect of different social interactions (such as competition between queens and interactions with workers) on the development of attractiveness in other 60 gynes. We used the number of males that tried to mate with a focal gyne as a representative variable of its sexual attractiveness. During the essays, each gyne was individually presented to 10 sexually mature males, and during 3 min, we counted the number of males that everted their genitalia in response to the presence of a gyne. Here, we show that M. flavolineata gynes are capable to (i) maintain their sexual attractiveness for long periods through adult life, (ii) they need a minimum social interaction to trigger the development of sexual attractiveness, and (iii) that gynes express this trait only within a social context. We conclude that the effective occurrence of matings is conditional on potential social interactions that gynes experienced before taking the nuptial flight, when they are still in the nest. These findings bring insights into the factors determining reproductive success in social insects.     

The first direct evidence of a Late Devonian coelacanth fish feeding on conodont animals

We describe the first known occurrence of a Devonian coelacanth specimen from the lower Famennian of the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, with a conodont element preserved in its digestive tract. A small spiral and phosphatic coprolite (fossil excrement) containing numerous conodont elements and other unrecognized remains was also found in the same deposits. The coprolite is tentatively attributed to the coelacanth. Although it is unclear whether the Late Devonian coelacanth from Poland was an active predator or a scavenger, these finds provide the first direct evidence of feeding on conodont animals by early coelacanth fish, and one of the few evidences of feeding on these animals known to date. It also expands our knowledge about the diet and trophic relations between the Paleozoic marine animals in general.     

Sexual differences in food preferences in the white stork: an experimental study

Sex differences in the foraging ecology of monomorphic species are poorly understood, due to problems with gender identification in field studies. In the current study, we used experimental conditions to investigate the food preferences of the white stork Ciconia ciconia, an opportunistic species in terms of food, but characterised by a low level of sexual dimorphism. During a 10-day experiment, 29 individuals (20 females and 9 males) were studied by means of a ‘cafeteria test’ in which the storks’ diet consisted of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, insects and earthworms. The storks preferred food characterised by high calorific and protein values such as mammals, birds and fish. Sexes differed strongly in their preferences; males preferred mammals, whereas females preferred birds. Moreover, females consumed insects and earthworms less often than males. Interestingly, males spent significantly less time foraging than females. We have demonstrated that the white stork exhibits clear sexual differences in food preferences which are mostly attributable to differences in parental duties, physiology and anatomy.     

Genetic sex determination in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Astatotilapia calliptera</Emphasis>, a prototype species for the Lake Malawi cichlid radiation

East African cichlids display extensive variation in sex determination systems. The species Astatotilapia calliptera is one of the few cichlids that reside both in Lake Malawi and in surrounding waterways. A. calliptera is of interest in evolutionary studies as a putative immediate outgroup species for the Lake Malawi species flock and possibly as a prototype ancestor-like species for the radiation. Here, we use linkage mapping to test association of sex in A. calliptera with loci that have been previously associated with genetic sex determination in East African cichlid species. We identify a male heterogametic XY system segregating at linkage group (LG) 7 in an A. calliptera line that originated from Lake Malawi, at a locus previously shown to act as an XY sex determination system in multiple species of Lake Malawi cichlids. Significant association of genetic markers and sex produce a broad genetic interval of approximately 26 megabases (Mb) using the Nile tilapia genome to orient markers; however, we note that the marker with the strongest association with sex is near a gene that acts as a master sex determiner in other fish species. We demonstrate that alleles of the marker are perfectly associated with sex in Metriaclima mbenjii, a species from the rock-dwelling clade of Lake Malawi. While we do not rule out the possibility of other sex determination loci in A. calliptera, this study provides a foundation for fine mapping of the cichlid sex determination gene on LG7 and evolutionary context regarding the origin and persistence of the LG7 XY across diverse, rapidly evolving lineages.